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Wednesday, 24 April 2013

T & U = Television & Unlimited Regression

So, here I am, trying my best to return to my blogger self.
I lost the steam since Q and only posted some cheat posts after that. Now as I had
failed to write anything for T so thought of combining it with U.

I am here talking about Daily serials of
Indian Television industry.- ‘Kkkkkk soaps’. Those who are not able to make out
its meaning, I am actually referring to mindless, gaudy, overtly melodramatic
daily soaps of Indian Television. But why…Kkkkk soaps? Well, I am trying to
name this horrible genre of TV soaps with its origin…. How can we forget that
this all had been started by ‘so called’ TV soap queen – Kekta Madam (Don’t you
dare to disintegrate the K from her name!!!).

I am not getting into the details that how & when this
genre changed the face of the TV industry. No. I won’t say that I miss those
weekly TV serials or old Series like Buniyaad, Humlog or anything else similar
to that. Everything has transformed into glossier & more glamorous now a
days so why only blame Television.

You surf through any Hindi entertainment channel ( why blame
only Hindi, any other regional language channel are also same), and you would
find almost cloned story plots, overdone faces, horrendously kitschy outfits,
loud acting and loads of glycerin. Even though chronologically we are in 21st
century but the trash kkk soaps which are aired actually compel you to go back
to some 18th or 19th century. I observed few different
channels which cemented my belief that they are somehow trying to give us a
ride in time machine.

A young girl of in her twenties who was shown
widow of the protagonist of the show is made to wear spotless white saree even though
her spouse died months back. And this too when the story backdrop is not rural
but the national capital of India.

Another channel is showing that how a couple who got married
against their parent’s will &permission is trying hard to get the
acceptance in the family. So, the videshi DIL has to pass certain tests set by
the head of the family. The nature of those tests varies from wearing a saree,
washing whole house after drawing water from the well, preparing food for the
whole 56 member family, or singing devotional songs with correct pronunciation
in the temple even before the sun rises. The dutiful DIL keeps on participating
in those tests with a big smile plastered to her face and without even uttering
a single protest.

An illiterate eve-teaser or to be precise a molester
forcibly marries an educated girl and the next 1000 episodes are aired
justifying his passionate love which forced him to own that woman without her
consent. She was shown to fall in his love after some hundred episodes when she
realizes he has a golden heart which contains obsessive love for her!!!

A contemporary girl gets married and a 360 degree makeover
takes place. She is shown roaming around only in sarees, accessorized with big ‘Mangalsutra’
and the vermillion is somehow placed in her hair-parting with help of a ruler
or scale which is generally found in a student’s geometry box!!

Any woman with a career in her mind and ambitions has to be
vile & negative in character. She would soon realize her incompetence in
front of the sacrificing housewife who eats her meal only after her family members
have been fed and burped!

I can continue to write about these instances endlessly.
These regressive tracks are surprisingly the biggest TRP puller. I know so many
people including me who don’t watch this stuff but then this fact cannot be
negated that a large chunk of population is hooked to these shows and follow
them religiously. I know its impact on the literate class is limited only to
the imitation of designer outfits & jewelry but the less educated strata are
hugely affected in different way. I had discussed with my maid and concluded
that somehow many of them believe that whatever shown in these serials are for
real or closely connected to reality. Another thing which they believe is that
if these serials are showing any regressive track on economically upper class background
then it should be followed. As per her, when an English speaking couple is
following these mindless track in the serials then it must have some logic and
reason.

These regressive serials in all the channels are actually
spamming our entertainment quota. Far away from reality, these monotonous &
senseless shows keep on mushrooming through all the channels irrespective of
language or religion.

Thanks for writing this !!I hate these holier than thou bahus and the crap all serials churn out Star world is my fav channel. Among hindi channels even if u watch one serial u can follow alll !I used to watch parvarish in sony but left it mid wayevery thing is dead boring

I hate these tele-serials with a capital H. They are so regressive and I cant stand watching them. The last time I watched a serial was in 2004. That was Kasauti Zindagi Ki and when it became wierder by the day, I left watching it too. In fact at our home, Sony, Zee, Star Plus, Colors are NEVER watched!

I hardly ever watch TV - let alone the TV serials - but when I put the TV on the other day, and flicked through the channels, I was shocked at the kind of rubbish that is being passed off as entertainment.

God, I detest these serials. My mom watches a lot of those. You should see the incredibly tacky, loud western wear the villain wears. It's so unfair. And oh, these days they bring in movie songs to let the characters speak, it is pathetic!

Agree, instead of spreading modern and progressive thoughts, our TV promotes regression, indirect violence against women, and nonsense values. Its really regressive. I just watch a Marathi serial, which is based in pre independence era. Its about a social reformer, Ramabai Ranade, how she fought all odds, got educated and worked towards upliftment of women and particularly widows